TC Evolution
by Dead Raen
Summary: Completed. Leon and Ada dive down into the depths of the past to reveal a new horror. Raccoon Revisited, post-RE4.
1. One

All characters except Dead Rain and some dead people belong to Capcom. All vehicles in story belong to their respected owners.

_"And I want to take you down, but your soul cannot be found._

_It doesn't matter much you see, cause your disease is killing me._

_And you know its only right cause it feels like paradise._

_I know nothing is for free cause your disease is killing me."_

Saliva - _Your Disease_

**TC EVOLUTION  
**

1917 Hours

"This is Rain, flying over Raccoon City airspace."

"Copy that, Rain. You should be reaching the destination shortly."

"Roger. I think I can see the- what the hell? Ah, sh… you've got to be fu… idding me…"

"Rain, you're breaking up. Please repeat?"

"...I repeat, I've be...fired at... missile... Impact! I'm losing altitude! I repeat! I'm going..."

"Rain, come in. Rain? Rain!"

2110 Hours

It had been a long day for Leon, although to him it felt more like a month. Fighting through hundreds of parasite-infested cultists all night could take a lot out of you.

_I hate my job._

It was worth it, though. His last mission was to rescue the president's daughter, Ashley Graham, and for his success, three million dollars was added to his

bank account-

_-I really like this car.-_

-And he had already spent a bit of it on his black Corvette C6 Zo6. He let his foot rest a little heavier on the gas than usual.

Leon got to his house at 9:12. Not bothering with the lights, he made his way to his bedroom, grabbed a handful of clothes, and took a long shower. He got

out in jeans and a dark blue tee.

_"And I guess that's why they call it the blues..."_

Leon's adrenaline spiked as the music floated into the hallway.

_What the hell? Music?_

Leon didn't remember turning on his stereo, and he definitely didn't remember buying an Elton John CD.

_Okay, so someone's in my house. And if they turned on the stereo, that probably means they mean no harm to me. If they wanted to hurt me, they've already had more than enough time to do so._

Leon considered this for a moment.

_Screw it. I don't even care anymore._

"Whoever you are, I'm about to go out to eat. If you want to tag along, I'll be waiting in the car." Leon figured this would be sufficient. "Don't break anything." He quickly added, stepping out into the dark night and into his car. As promised, he waited, and right before he decided to leave, the side door opened-

_Here we go..._

-And Ada Wong, a ghost of the past, stepped into the car.

Leon sighed, shifted into drive and pushed down on the gas, hard. The car furiously jolted and they were off, going down a 30mph street at 70. Ada was almost certainly the last person he had expected to see after last night. Her mysterious appearance in Spain, her thieving of the plaga sample, and now she was here. None of it made sense, and that wasn't good.

"So, Ada? Why are you here? Why do you keep showing up like this?"

"I need your help." She responded.

_That's code language for "bad news"._ There was no doubt that she meant trouble.

Leon brought their speed up to 90.

Ada sighed. "I need to get into Raccoon."

_WHAT?!_

Suddenly the car was swerving and squealing as Leon slammed on the breaks.

"Mind repeating that? I could have _sworn_ you said you wanted to go to Raccoon. You know, the hell we _barely_ escaped six years ago? The place I thought you had _died_ in?"

"I'm afraid you heard right, Leon." Ada replied, with a hint of humor in her voice. "A helicopter pilot crashed. He was looking into a tip about a recently constructed Post-Umbrella research facility in the heart of the city."

Leon didn't like where this was going. "Raccoon's been off limits since its destruction. It's still not safe, either. The missile launched by the government into the city didn't completely kill off the virus. People on guard at the wall say they can still here the large footsteps of something _big_ in there."

"That's exactly it. What better way to research a virus than at the scene of the incident? Also, you have clearance to get through the wall."

"Damn."

"Oh, c'mon, Leon." Ada teased. "It'll be like old times."

Leon almost wished he knew what she meant by that.

Almost.

2011 Hours

Rain sat up, trying to remember what had happened. He lucked out, only having a slight bruise on his arm and a small headache to complement it. Rain took out his radio, pressing the buttons wearily.

"S 1-9, this is Dead Rain. I am broadcasting on all AM frequencies. My helicopter crashed inside of the Raccoon quarantine zone. If there's anyone out there..." An hour passed with no avail. It looked like he was on his own.

Rain's chopper had been shot down by what he suspected to be a Tyrant. The thing was _large_ - he estimated it to be standing at somewhere between twenty and thirty feet. It also sported a _very_ large rocket launcher which was hefted on its shoulder. The helicopter's tail had been hit and he had jumped out of the spinning tomb onto the roof of a nearby skyscraper shell.

_And I'm damn lucky this thing was still standing. If it wasn't..._

_Don't think like that. This place is a hell, remember? You'll need to be on your toes if you want to survive. Can't change the world if you're dead, can you?_

Sage advice. Rain almost turned off his radio when he heard a smooth female voice break through the static.

"Rain, this is Red Shadow. Can you hear me?"

_Thank god._

"Affirmative, Red Shadow. Go ahead." Maybe Rain wouldn't be here very long after all.

"What a place to crash, huh? I can help you get out, but you still need to complete your mission. I've also got a separate job for you."

_I'll probably regret this later._

"Copy that. What do you need?"

"How much movement have you seen throughout the city? Any vehicles?"

He _had_ in fact seen a vehicle drive up to the helicopter wreckage that was still smoking on the ground below. It was too high an altitude to determine what it was by sight alone, but the engine was unmistakably a Hummer. Aside from the fact that it was there, it didn't surprise him too much; the "roads" were nothing more than broken cement slabs.

"That's an affirmative. I saw a Hummer inspecting what was left of the chopper. It left a moment ago."

"Alright. Find a way down that skyscraper and go three blocks east from your current position. From there you will find a building, probably partially crumbled. There's a resonator inside. I want you to collect that resonator. It was used to monitor Umbrella activity, and it's now transmitting the EXU's work. If you are unable to get it, it must be destroyed. It was in the building that used to be Kendo's Gun Shop."

_Sounds pretty much like a shit-job._

"Wilco. Dead Rain out." Rain holstered the radio to his side and walked over to the edge of the building. There was no easy way down from the outside - he'd have to take the stairs, assuming _those_weren't also inaccessible. If those too were out, he was pretty much screwed unless he could find something to use from the rubble.

That probably wouldn't be much of a challenge, either. There was enough shit in this place to make... well, a city.

_Maybe I shouldn't have volunteered for this op._

…_It's kind of late to have second feelings about this. Quit your complaining and get moving, soldier._

It was getting dark. Rain sighed and turned on his flashlight, starting the descent, climbing over and through all the debris in the stairwell.


	2. Two

2014 Hours

Albert Wesker scrutinized the monitors intensely, watching the little commando walking through the desolate streets of Raccoon.

"The NE-4's rocket launcher hit his helicopter. How he's still walking around is beyond me. I suppose he jumped onto a nearby building. Should we take him out?" A gruff sergeant said over his shoulder.

"No, I want you to bring him in, unharmed and unconscious, if you can. I just found a new test subject for our TC Virus." Wesker cracked a smile.

_Kid, you're in for one hell of a night._

"Yes sir." The sergeant left, and Wesker leaned back in his chair, still watching the poor bastard on the screens. He flipped on the audio to accompany and complete the movie, and heard the man's light footsteps on the uneven gravel. Even now, he saw the Sergeant's team moving in on the subject on a different screen. They had chosen to snipe him, apparently, as the team stopped at a close building and their sniper appeared up top, rifle in hand. The subject must have sensed the danger, for he stopped, looking around the area with an obvious unease. He only had a small sidearm, a semi-automatic pistol by the looks of it.

_He doesn't have a chance, even if there is a conflict._

There was a sudden flash from the sniper's barrel, and the muffled chirp of a round piercing the air.

"Ah!" The subject said in surprise, feeling his neck. He pulled the dart out and looked at it for a second. "Aw, shit..." He grumbled before collapsing.

2115 Hours

Ada and Leon were finally getting into the barren city of Raccoon. Leon packed well, deciding to go into battle with a chain gun-equipped Jeep and an XM8 assault rifle to accompany it. They had gone out to an informal restaurant, a late-night dinner on her. It was a nice thing to do, and she suspected his sanity was about through if he didn't relax at least for a little while.

"So, what are we looking for? Some sort of huge building? One that's _not_ made of rubble, I mean." Leon asked tersely, still obviously uncomfortable about her sudden presence.

_And he has every right to be. He hasn't seen you in six-_

Ada squandered the thought, focusing on the mission at hand. She could deal with her past _after_ the danger was gone.

"Actually, we need to first find that pilot I had spoken of. I had sent him to collect something and it still hasn't moved on the radar. He might be in trouble."

"Where was he last heard from? And what was he collecting?"

"He was atop a skyscraper; heading east to what was Kendo's Gun Shop…" Ada trailed off when she saw Leon visibly shudder at the store's name. "You alright?" She asked lightly.

"Yeah. I was thinking about... never mind. I can get us there." Leon said quietly.

_Terrible coincidence. I suppose he was there when the place was overwhelmed by the zombies._

The two drove on past the seemingly infinite amount of dark mountainous rubble across the once alive city.

2040 Hours

Rain was shaken awake. He looked up to see a small room laced with sharp, shiny medical equipment. Two other people occupied the room – one with a short beard and black baseball cap, dark green khakis and a matching green vest. He pointed a shotgun in Rain's face, which was a slightly uncomfortable sight. The other guy had his back turned to Rain and wore a white overcoat. He appeared to be talking to someone on a computer.

Rain groaned as pain in his wrists flared to life, the obvious work of someone apathetic to his wellbeing. The Scientist turned his head, revealing a worn face and glasses. He moved away from the computer and someone else came into view, apparently lounging on a large and expensive-looking chair. He had slicked back dirty blond hair, a flawless face, and dark sunglasses. Rain struggled against his headache to remember the name it belonged to, but before long he felt a jolt of unease and his blood suddenly ran cold.

_Albert Wesker._

"Let me be the first to welcome to you to my test chamber... Dead Rain, is it not? Well,_ Mr. Rain_, let me also be the first to congratulate you. After all, you are an important part of our TC Experiment!" Wesker's voice floated through the hollow room like an icy wind, freezing everything it touched.

Rain tried to stand and move his arms and another shot of pain coursed through his wrists.

"Try to sit still, please." Wesker taunted, his body language giving nothing away.

"Go to hell." Rain replied dryly.

Wesker laughed in return. "The procedure will start in a moment. You'll feel a slight pinch..."

Rain turned his attention to the scientist just in time to see him drive a large needle into his arm.

_MOTHER-_

Rain held back his scream as best his could, pulling his body off of the chair. The tethers that held him to it didn't loosen at all. After a few seconds the doctor took out the needle. Rain slumped down in the chair, nausea washing over him as he felt the injection swim through his veins.

_What the hell was that? TC?_

"There, there. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Wesker mocked. "Oh, and Mr. Rain? _This_ will hurt."

Rain managed to find the strength to look up just in time to see the scientist's fist hurtling toward him.

_TC Report_

_The TC Virus is the newest version of the T Virus. Instead of focusing on total regeneration, scientists mainly looked to make the perfect predator. For this, the actual T-Regen was toned down significantly, making it lack the ability to kill and reanimate the user. Instead, research has shown that it now heals most wounds (Cuts, Bruises, And Broken Bones) at a faster rate than normal. A broken bone may be healed in five to fifteen minutes, real time. If there is anything inside the wound, however, it should be taken out immediately to avoid any infection or danger._

_As mentioned before, the scientists, myself including, looked to create the perfect predator. The test subjects, dogs and mice, were found to be much faster, the dogs able to run at a stunning 30KPH. Their skin has become extremely tough, with a feel similar to Kevlar. The dogs themselves seem to be able to change this, allowing their skin to become loose and tight. This phenomenon seems to happen only when aroused or angered. We predict that the reason is a chemical reaction - Adrenaline is most likely._

_The TC virus boosted the senses of the test subjects. The mice's senses had grown dramatically. They responded to subsonic frequencies, both low and high, and smell food from over a kilometer away through obstructions. Their sight, above all, was spectacular - they could see through fog that would be far too dense for normal vision._

_There seems to have been a previously overlooked factor. There is a noticeable increase in natural aggression in many of the dogs. One of trainers was ripped apart by an unprovoked pack of them earlier today. Needless to say, our research will continue, and at this point we're ready for human testing._

_To that end, this evening we've acquired a human subject, a prime candidate at that. He will be administered the TC Virus and transferred to a holding room. I'm slightly concerned, though. The holding room is right next to the armory. With that in mind, I've decided to also administer a mild sleeping toxin. He should be out long enough for us to transfer him to the testing grounds._

_As stated many times before, I am thrilled to be a part of this project._

2216 Hours

Sergeant Foreman yawned and stretched, wondering when his shift would be over. He eyed the guards on either side of the door, and saw that they felt just as he did, wishing for sleep. He thought he heard movement in the room in front of him, but dispelled the notion, thinking about how tired he was.

It was when he heard a sound again that he perked up. The doorknob of the holding cell rattled. The left guard jumped and backed away from the door, his eyes trained on the doorknob.

"What the hell?" the rookie guard started. "I thought he wasn't supposed to wake for at least another hour." The guard to the right appeared to have been dozing, and only lifted his head at the sound of the other's voice.

"Go back to bed, jackass." He said at the prisoner. "You can't get through the doors."

Foreman sighed, thinking about the prisoner. Apparently he had come to get something, or blow up something, or whatever the fuck he wanted. Then he got his ass caught after being blown out of the sky and tripping a sensor, and Wesker had decided to make another toy to play with.

His thinking was interrupted by the loud slam of a fist connecting to the door. The rookie jumped again, his body quivering.

"Hey... cut it out in there!" He said shakily. Foreman eyed the hinges on the door, noting that the top bolt had become loose. The captive punched again, and the bolt fell out. He raised his gun at the door.

"Cut it out in there." He said sternly.

Sergeant Foremen barely saw the door break off the bottom hinge, and much less felt it as it collided with his head and sent him into the wall.


	3. Three

Limerick by me. 

_There once was a soldier named Rain,_

_Who was deemed an expert in pain._

_When he was infected,_

_He felt disconnected - _

_A monster with nothing to gain. _

2218 Hours

Rain slammed the door once more, and it went flying off its bottom hinge, slamming the man whose voice he'd heard last back into the wall. Light poured into the room and Rain got a first good look at himself.

_Ah, shit... what'd they do to me?_

He flexed his fingers and watched as the skin darkened. He felt his hand and found it to be extremely rough, the skin turning a very ghostly white when touched.

_You can worry about this later, right now: MOVE._

Right. He looked around the corridor and spotted another room with a sign that he liked.

_ARMORY_

He began his run to the armory and felt adrenaline pump into his muscles. Suddenly he was moving far faster than he would have normally and found that he was already at the door.

_That injection… the TC Virus. It must be making me faster and stronger._ It was no secret that EX-Umbrella teams had been experimenting with the T-Virus and G-Virus, but to think that they had gotten _this_ far with it…

In the armory he procured a light Kevlar vest, a few MP5's and an M16 with a couple of extended magazines.

_Why do they need this much firepower?_

There were also a few empty gun cases. The Styrofoam protection well for one silhouetted what looked like a Gatling gun and another for what had to be a rocket launcher.

_Those probably belong to the thing that shot me down here._

Rain grabbed the M16 and straddled the MP5's to his legs.

_What do we have here?_

He spotted a small headset on a nearby shelf and put it on.

"This is Dead Rain. Does anyone copy?" He spoke.

"What? You shouldn't - Security! We have a breach!" Someone yelled over the comm. An emergency alarm sounded.

_Shit, that was dumb of me. I need to get out of here, fast._

Rain kept the headset on and ran out into the corridor, turning the safety off of the M16. He turned the corner and was met by two guards before he could ready the weapon and instead dropped it, getting ready for close combat -

_Kill_-

Rain found himself jumping at the closes guard, his skin darkening and toughening, his fingers extended and ready to claw and his mind becoming lightheaded. He connected with the guard, already punching, ripping, slamming the man onto the ground; the only thing going through his head was to secure his safety, to end the life of his attacker. Soon the guard laid still, a broken, bloody mess. Rain's forearms, body armor, face and hands were covered in blood, and as he looked up to the second guard, he saw the flash of pure terror swim through his features. The man took a step back, spun around, and ran as fast as he could the other way. Rain smiled a vicious and hungry grin of a predator who just found his next meal and in three quick strides he caught up. With a sharp blow to the man's back the guard was collapsed on the ground, twitching. Rain looked back and eyed the pool of blood and the mangled guard, his humanity coming back to him.

_Oh my god, what did I do? What have I become?_

Rain ran as fast as he could through the hallways, feeling nauseous about the entire ordeal but knowing he needed to get out of the facility. At last he found a garage and stepped though the door, delighted at seeing the many ATV's and Hummers. Rain pushed a large button to his right and it opened up a pathway that led up. A cold breeze blew across him, and he found solace in knowing a way out had been found.

He walked over to the pathway and looked up the incline, noting the rain that was illuminated in the dark by the storm lights that pierced into the night. Water trickled down the hill, creating puddles at his feet.

_Great._

Rain jumped on an ATV, pleased to find it had a full tank of fuel. He started it and drove out of the garage and into the rain, the sound of the alarm fading as drove away. He was startled as eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of the night and found he could see everything around him. Rain eyed the buildings, trying to orient himself. A barely legible sign on one of the smaller shells read Kendo's Gun Shop.

_The mission. I still have a mission to complete._

He got off the ATV and went into Kendo's, looking for the resonator. It was nowhere to be found, and after a few minutes he gave up.

_Someone else had to have had come through here._

A piece of paper caught his eye. Rain picked it up, noting its warmth - it had probably been recently printed. Perhaps a commando had dropped it.

_TC Report? Maybe this has some valuable information._

He quickly read it and felt a sudden urgency to get in touch with his commander. He tried the headset but received only static. Rain left and got back onto the ATV, speeding through the rain.

Error: Signal stopped.

Attempting to reconnect...

Connection denied - Firewall detected.

Time Unknown

"We've been out here looking for this guy for almost three hours. There hasn't been_anything_." Leon said tiredly, looking at the resonator in his hands. Man, what he would do for an hour of sleep.

"Are you proposing we leave him out here?" Ada replied, in a tone suggesting said she already knew the answer.

Leon stretched his back and leaned against the Jeep. "I'm _proposing_ we try something else. What about that radar you brought with you?"

"That only detects T-Virus hosts. Plus, we already tried it. We saw a large body, almost certainly a Tyrant.

"We checked everywhere he would have been. Maybe he was caught."

Ada sighed. "Highly unlikely. One of his strong points is stealth. On top of that, he's got the uncanny ability to get out of anything."

Leon was awestruck. Surely she hadn't forgotten how she had trapped _him_ six years ago, did she?

"All it takes is one, Ada. One gun at your back to trap you. You won't be able to act; you wouldn't be fast enough to escape." The memory came back to him vividly, with him on the bridge and Ada, with her gun pointed directly at him.

"Leon..." She started, but fell silent, perhaps _also_ remembering her betrayal. She reached into a small bag and took out the radar, already keying in commands.

"What? Take a look at this." Ada passed the radar over to Leon, and he scrutinized it carefully. There was a very large, unmoving red dot four or five kilometers away. They guessed it to be a Tyrant -

_...or some other monstrosity biologically engineered by Umbrella's finest..._

...and there was also smaller dot that was moving very fast toward the larger one.

_What the hell?_

"That's too fast for anything to be moving on foot, and last time I checked, T-Hosts couldn't drive…" Leon said, trailing off.

…_Unless the EXU have been playing with their viruses more. Maybe they have gotten to the pilot…?_

He looked over to Ada, whose face gave no hints as to what she felt about the subject.

"My... _Agency_ heard that EX-Umbrella scientists were working on new strands of the T and G Viruses. We don't really know much about it."

Leon started getting a really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, identical to the one he had last time he was in this hell. Except _last_ time he was surrounded by the living dead with the ever-present danger and fear, the stench of rotting meat laced so heavily in the air, everything he had tried to forget was returning with a shattering blow...

"I know. I remember it too." Ada said very suddenly, looking at him with a worn face. "Leon, I can't change the past. But if it's worth anything, I'm sorry for what I did."

There was a flash in the sky, followed by the rolling of thunder. Droplets of rain began to speckle his shirt.

_Time to go._

Leon got into the Jeep and right before he started it, he opened the door, listening closely to the rain. Beneath the rain's war drums, he heard a distant and barely audible humming of a motor.

_Is that...?_

"I think I hear a vehicle. Let's see if we can't catch up with it." He said, and Ada nodded.

_Don't worry, guy. We're coming to find you. Umbrella will pay for what they've done._

Time Unknown

"How could he have gotten out?" Wesker asked calmly at the squad of men in front of him, anger kissing the edges of his words.

Silence.

"Sir," An officer spoke up, his voice slightly trembling. "We've got it all filmed. He was able to smash through the double-bolted doors - They were reinforced steel. His strength is unmatched. His speed - It's unfathomable! If I didn't know any better, I'd say he wasn't human."

"He _isn't_ human, commander, not anymore. We still have the ATV he took on GPS. Find him and bring him back. Use the highest dose tranquilizer we have, and if you fail to capture him, you die." Wesker replied coldly, watching the grunts shift uneasily with the news.

_Oh, but it's not me who'll kill you. That thing out there in the city is what's going to rip you limb from limb. And I don't mean the Tyrant._

Wesker knew this wouldn't be far gone from the truth - Based on the other test subjects, the TC carrier wouldn't think twice about ending one's life.

_The perfect predator..._

"Well, get going." Wesker said, a hint of frustration becoming audible. The squad _moved_. He left the room and walked back to his computer terminal and found a glowing red alert flashing on the monitor. One of the sensors had been tripped. Wesker tapped the monitor and the warning faded, pulling up a night vision snapshot of a jeep maneuvering around debris.

_Probably with our test subject._

Wesker sharpened the picture and zoomed in, becoming was awestruck at what he saw.

_Ada Wong, I was wondering when you'd show up again. I knew our games weren't over quite yet._

She had been playing him all along - the G-Virus sample, the Plagas... it had all been a ploy, and he had played right into it. Perhaps a little justice would be served tonight.

_Oh, I see you also brought Leon Kennedy._

The_original_ reason for her betrayal, to help the once-rookie cop survive the events that happened there in Raccoon six years before. They had some sort of relationship, but how deep it ran was anyone's guess.

_Let's make things interesting, shall we?_

He reached over to his comm. and flicked the device on.

"It looks as though we've got some other intruders. I'll see to it that whoever brings both their heads back in a bag _never_ has to work again." Wesker smiled. Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad, after all.


	4. Four

**Time Unknown**

The NE-4 "_Tyrant"_ woke from its stasis as rain started falling on it. Its huge tan eyes slowly opened as its mechanical receptors started up. There were a series of flashes as the connections turned on. The flashes finished and a heads-up display came into view. Words flashed across the screen in a box labeled "**NEW OBJECTIVES**".

**RETRIEVE TEST SUBJEcT**

**ELIMINATE LEON KENNEDY**

**ELIMINATE ADA WONG**

The Tyrant picked up the quad-barreled rocket launcher and minigun lying on the ground and leaned back to let out a deafening roar - the hunt had begun.

**Time Unknown**

Dead Rain felt the furious howl before he heard it. It had sent tremors through the ground where he was standing under the building shell and caused the rubble he was near to shift - many small concrete slabs slid off their unstable perch and crumbled as they hit the ground.

Then the sound came. Rain thought the storm was loud, but the roar easily dwarfed it. Rain had to cup his ears, but it didn't help - the TC Virus amplified the sound and Rain's body shook as the scream continued. When it had at last stopped, rain gave out a long exhale and fell to his knees, placing his hands on the wet and crumbled cement.

"What the_ fuck _was that?" He breathed, already knowing the answer.

_The same thing that shot me down to this hell._

Could it have been one of the mass-produced bio-weapons that he had been briefed on? One of the beasts so feared by its makers that it got the nickname "Tyrant"? Rain had a spike of adrenaline and his senses flared.

_Ugh, something smells terrible, like rotting fruit. And something else..._

Rain lost the smell, but only for a moment. He concentrated and sniffed the air, and caught the smell again - a diesel motor.

_Shit - possibly a Hummer. Wesker's men are close on me. I gotta go._

Dead Rain walked out from under the cover and into the rain. Right before he started the ATV, he listened as hard as he could to the storm. He allowed the virus to take hold, and as soon as he did, he heard a diesel engine humming easily over the storm. It wasn't far away - maybe a half kilometer, if that.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Rain heard the massive footsteps of the beast, and there was another jolt of adrenaline as he felt the steps rumbling through the ground next to him. There was the sound of a flapping jacket in the wind as the footsteps stopped, and Rain looked up to see a figure with a black trench coat flying toward him.

_Oh, shit._

Rain jumped back under the skyscraper right as the Tyrant - Rain was by now positive that it was a Tyrant - Landed on and crushed the ATV. The Tyrant was crouched over, and Rain got a good look at it when it stood.

The thing was easily nine feet tall. It was big - Rain suspected that it was all muscle - and covered by a black leather coat. The Tyrant wore body armor under the coat; its right hand held a large glistening quad-barreled rocket launcher and the left hand held a black minigun.

What appalled and threatened Rain the most was the face. It was grey, with mechanics coming out of its temples and into its dirty almond eyes. The lips were surgically removed, revealing a pale grin.

Rain decided he didn't want to know what the Tyrant thought was so funny. He broke into a run from the building and headed away from the tyrant, all the while unslinging the M16 from his back. The rain poured heavier on his body but he didn't care. Rain let the virus run wild throughout his body, and he quickly picked up speed.

His eyesight sharpened, and he could see everything in the dark. He was focused primarily on the Tyrant. He turned past a pile of rubble-

"AHH! FUCK!"

-And was met by TC-Amplified headlights, blinding him.

**Time Unknown**

"Jesus!" Leon yelled in surprise as someone jumped in front of the Jeep, and quickly thrust the wheel right. The Jeep groaned as it sharply turned off the path. Ada flew free from her seat and slammed into his arms, causing the wheel to jerk free from his grip. She fell into his lap. Leon laid his arm across her chest and locked his hand onto her shoulder, giving her a small brace for impact. He put as much pressure as he could on the brakes, and at last the Jeep stopped, coming to a rest when it hit the side of a building shell.

Leon realized he'd been holding his breath. He leaned back and exhaled. Ada was gripping his arm tightly with her eyes closed.

"Hey, you alright?" Leon asked lightly, leaning back over her. Ada opened her eyes and winced in pain. She loosened her grip on his arm, but only slightly.

"Yeah... what happened?" Her voice was strained.

"I think our friend has just been found," He said softly. "He jumped out in front of the Jeep. But..."

"But, what?"

"I don't know. He didn't look... normal." Leon had to have seen wrong. The guy's skin - it looked... impossibly rough. It was too course looking and spotted to be normal. On top of that, his eyes. It could have been a light trick, but were they orange?

Everything aside from that looked fine. Dark clothes, a rifle in hand. The stereotypical spec ops marine.

Leon slid his left hand under Ada's back and pushed her up to a sitting position, and opened the driver door. He looked out to the rear of the Jeep toward the intended path -

_-ah, hell.-_

-And found a gun in his face.

"Don't move."

**Time Unknown**

Ada opened her eyes, but quickly shut them again as pain enveloped her skull.

_Fuck. I must've hit the wheel when I was thrown from the seat._ She was thankful for Leon's quick actions - had he not given her that brace with his arm, her headache might be a little worse.

"Hey, you alright?" Leon's voice floated into her head. She again attempted to open her eyes and closed them as another wave of pain came over her. Slowly, she lessened her grip on Leon's arm.

"Yeah... what happened?" Ada replied. The pain started to subside, leaving a numb and empty feeling.

Leon seemed to notice her discomfort and lowered his voice. "I think out friend has just been found. He jumped out in front of the Jeep." He paused. "But..."

Ada had a jolt of unease. "But... what?"

"I don't know. He didn't look... normal." Leon wore an unsure look, his gaze distant.

_Wonderful._

Leon may have called it after all. Had he been infected? Was he still the person she knew, or was he another soul lost to the twisted minds of Umbrella? It'd be a shame to put the guy down - he was one of her best. But she'd have to pull the trigger if it came to that, and she could live with that.

Ada felt Leon slide his hand under her back, his hand cold on her warm skin. He pushed her up to a sitting position and proceeded to open the door. Ada reluctantly let go of his arm. Leon leaned out of the door and promptly froze.

"Don't move," came Dead Rain's raspy voice.

_Shit._

Rain moved around the corner of the car and Ada got a good look at him. Leon was right - he didn't look the way a human should've. His skin was a deep tan color and there were blotches of white where droplets of water hit him. The skin itself looked course.

What mystified her most were his eyes - they were orange and seemed to have a dim glow. Ada wasn't sure what to say - they hadn't seen one another since the first mission, almost twelve years ago. Since then, she had contacted him through radio. Of course, she had access to the files of all the operatives at S, as she was a valuable asset to them. He was of lower ranking - a mere grunt.

"Call off the Tyrant." Rain said quickly, his entire body remaining still as the rain poured on him, the rifle aimed directly into Leon's forehead.

There was a moment of silence. Leon finally found words to explain.

"We can't. We aren't controlling it."

"Do it, _now_." Rain replied coldly, a strange contrast to his new look.

Ada decided to clarify. "Dead Rain, serial number 7178412, it's Red Shadow. We've come to evacuate you."

Rain didn't move, perhaps making sense of the new information. After a moment he lowered his weapon and reached out a gloved hand to Leon. He reluctantly took it and pulled himself out of the Jeep. Rain had never been one for small talk - Ada had found that out while training with him. She wasn't surprised when he went straight to business - they'd have to catch up on old times later.

"Perhaps you've already guessed, but there's a Tyrant not far from here coming for us. From what I've been listening to on their communications relay, they want me back alive - and they want you two dead. I think we should-"

Whatever Rain thought they should've done was cut off by a large tremble in the ground.

"Hold on." Rain said very quietly, and took a step toward the nearby building. Ada, in turn, took a step back, a wave of dread washing over her.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Still nothing but the rhythmic drumming of the storm, which appeared to be dying off.

Twenty seconds.

Ada took a step forward. "Rain, we-"

"MOVE! NOW!" Rain suddenly shouted, spinning around and jumping at Ada, knocking her down onto the wet pavement and covering her with his entire body. Behind him was a large shockwave, with dust and debris going in all directions. A large dark figure rose from the dust, right where she had been standing.

_NE-4..._

Ada looked back to Leon, who had taken up a position behind the Jeep, his XM8 out and ready to be fired. She looked again at Rain, who was inspecting her with his glowing orange eyes.

"Do you trust me?" He asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

At that Ada suddenly had memories of training, of Rain always putting them on the line to gain the advantage. He would always ask that question, and Ada would always know he was about to do something stupid. Nevertheless, he always got them through.

"...Yes." She said, and waited for all hell to break loose.


	5. Five

Due to the length of this chapter (and the time it took to write it) the next installment may be a day or so late. Writing this stuff ain't easy.

Love, Dead Rain.

**Approx. 0200 Hours (** **2:00**

Leon rested his weapon on the back of the Jeep and had his sights lined up on the Tyrant, but focused on Rain's body, covering Ada. The thunderstorm had chilled and was replaced by snow, and Leon suddenly realized how cold he was.

The Tyrant was completely static, but its weaponry was aimed right for Rain, who was now telling Ada something. Leon quickly lit his watch. The time was close to two, and the temperature had sunk to 22ºF. He flexed his numb fingers, wishing that none of this was happening, that he was back at home with his feet up.

Leon's attention returned to the dark figures on the ground, seeing that Rain had slightly lifted his hand, pointing at him and then making a quick swipe over his head - the universal gesture for "Cover this area". Leon made a slight nod and leaned against the Jeep, aiming the reticule on the Tyrant's large grinning face. He already knew that the rounds wouldn't be able to break the skin of the creature, but he had a doubt that was Rain's intention. He exhaled, watching the warm breath rise and disappear into the frozen air. Rain held up three fingers, and then lowered himself closer to Ada, who had drawn her weapon out of its holster.

Right. Leon counted down.

_Three-_

Ada wrapped her free arm around Rain's chest, flicking the safety of her weapon off-

_Two-_

Rain placed his hand back down and began to push himself and Ada up, connecting his feet with the ground, tensing his muscles-

_One-_

Leon took one last breath and looked into the scope of his weapon, placing his finger on the trigger-

_Zero._

He pulled on the trigger and the rifle sputtered a three round burst at the Tyrant, hitting the target with dead accuracy. Rain was already up and running, starting an arc around the Tyrant. The monstrous entity growled in frustration as another three round burst collided with its tough skin, and it stopped tracking Rain and turned back to Leon, aiming the large minigun right for him. The rotating barrel began to spin-

-_Ah, shit-_

-and Leon jumped out of the way right before the weapon fired. The air was suddenly full of rounds, the Jeep's armored plating easily being penetrated.

Leon launched himself away from the Jeep, taking cover behind an uprooted slab of cement. Bullets peppered the cover and the space around it, and Leon wondered exactly how the hell Rain's plan was going to work.

" Leon!" Ada's voice crackled through his headset. "We're going to draw its attention, but it won't fire on Rain. I guess they want him alive. Be ready, I'm dropping near you."

"Copy that," Leon yelled over the gunfire. "Just say when." There was a quick burst of semiautomatic fire under the louder minigun, and then both stopped.

"When!" Ada said, and Leon jumped up, seeing Rain continuing his arc around the Tyrant, but now coming toward Leon, Ada in his grasp. Leon dropped his gun and readied his body - Rain was going to _toss_ Ada at him.

**Approx. 0205 Hours (** **2:05**

Ada knew what flying felt like - and this was _not_ flying. Her arms flailed as she tried hopelessly to balance herself, getting ready for the sudden crash that would happen right about-

Ada slammed into Leon's body, wrapping her arms around his chest as the force sent them both down onto the cold and wet cement.

_Jesus Christ, you didn't have to throw so hard._ The reality of the situation was dawning on her, though. Rain was infected with a strand of the virus and didn't know his own strength. Ada released her grip on Leon, making quick eye contact that said "_Guess what? I'm on top of you._" and looked away as adrenaline shot through her heart.

_Not the time to think about that-_

She pushed off of Leon and swung around, already bringing her sidearm up, aiming at the Tyrant-

-and then stopping as she watched Rain jump on top of the hideous beast, taking out a knife and stabbing it through the head. A murmur of displeasure came from the Tyrant as the knife tore through its eye. With a loud, echoing _thump_ it hit the Earth face first, Rain riding on its back the entire way down. There was the sound of the life in the creature going away, and the Tyrant moved no more.

Ada stood up, not a little terror showing on her face as she watched Rain's heavily-breathing body heave itself up from the ground, his eyes glowing a dim orange.

"We should split up. See if we can cut their forces apart." He said, still focused on the dead bio-weapon that lay on the ground. Without another word he sprinted away, dashing around the corner at inhuman speeds, his footsteps inaudible.

"Jesus Christ," Leon said silently behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "What _is_ he? What has he_ become_?"

Ada sighed and looked down at the lightly-snow covered ground. "I wish I knew."

The two silently made their way back to the Jeep, Leon driving around the wreckage with no particular destination.

_And can you blame him? I haven't even seen that kind of power since Wesker, but the aggression, the animalistic anger towards the Tyrant, let alone what Leon's seen..._

She began thinking everything over - Rain now had the virus, or a form of it. And once you were infected, you were infected. There was absolutely no way to reverse the effects...

_But it doesn't look like he's turning into a zombie. Besides, you made up your mind already, haven't you? If he needs to be put down, you won't waver. It's your duty._

Ada looked over at Leon, inspecting his damp hair and chiseled face, resting on his deep stormy-blue eyes. My, how he looked tired. She wasn't surprised of his calmness in the least; what was happening now wasn't any weirder than last night with the Plagas parasites. Perhaps he even _favored_ T-Virus and G-Virus monsters over Las Plagas. If that was the case, it wouldn't shock her, either. It was much more inviting to fight something you know and understand rather than something you didn't, despite the difficulty they may trade off.

Leon sighed, his moderately-built body leaning on the door. He looked over at Ada, trying to make a reassuring smile but quickly giving up - there was _nothing_ to be reassured about. Ada looked over his sharp features, stopping on the scar he'd won from his battle with Krauser just last night. There was no doubt he still had many questions left unanswered about last night, and even more about the last six years. 24 hours ago he thought Krauser had been dead for two years. 24 hours ago Umbrella was dead and gone. 24 hours ago she was just a memory.

...Although he wasn't surprised at seeing her now as much as he was in Spain. Sometime in those six years he must've picked up a lead on her.

_And now you're lying to him again..._

No, it wasn't lying, not completely. Part of her mission _was_ to destroy the EXU lab here. She just didn't tell him _everything_. He didn't need to know about _everything_, just enough for him to cooperate.

_And then what? You're going to slip away from him, just like last time. You're betraying the man you fell for six years ago._

Ada pushed the thought out of her mind and looked away from Leon. She remembered the look he had given her when she took the Plagas sample from him, the disappointment and sadness that swept through his eyes.

Leon looked back at the road, his blue eyes seeming to turn a blunt gray. Ada was thankful he wasn't asking all those questions. Perhaps he already knew she wasn't allowed to answer them.

"So what's Rain like?" He asked.

"He's an alright guy, I guess. Not really a party person, not even back at training. The quiet and solemn type." She responded. "Even during the grad party when most of the trainees went out for drinks at a local bar, he stayed back and went through more exercises. His motto was 'be prepared'. I guess it all paid off because he was the only one fit for duty when the first assignment came. It actually happened during the grad party. He called in for assistance."

"Where were you when all this happened?"

"I was in a separate division, centered on covert operations. He was in the Special operations division, the two divisions worked side by side, and occasionally mingled with one another. He was called in on the mission I was in because my cover had been blown."

"What was the mission?"

"You know I can't tell you."

Leon shrugged. "Fair enough. But is that how you two really met?"

"I guess you could say that. The mission was ultimately a success, but without him I'd probably had died right there. It's all in how he gets things done. His attitude; it's objective and rational, and that makes him the perfect soldier. He does what he's told and doesn't question it. He prefers to work alone, but his leadership skills are outstanding. I've never worked with a better person."

Ada looked back at Leon. " Leon, I'm sorry you had to be the one for me to bring into this hellish place. But we both want answers and they're all in that facility."

Leon met her gaze evenly; his eyes still a pale gray hue. "It's alright, Ada. Just... tell me what's going to happen when this is all over."

The realization swept over her like an icy wind, filling her with feelings of sadness and dread.

_He's already guessed you aren't going to stick around._

She sighed, looking away once more. "We'll have to separate again." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Leon's face wash over with disappointment, but it quickly faded to resolve.

"Just... don't leave me again, alright? Not like last time." It wasn't a request as much as a plea. "Please, Ada. Keep in touch." A hint of despair and fear of loneliness tugged at the edges of his words.

That time he took her by surprise, and she felt her cheeks warm. "..Of course, Leon." Their jobs made it impossible for them to be together, and both Ada and Leon knew this.

...But it had been a _long_ six years.


	6. Six

**Time Reestablished.**

**0215 Hours (2:15)**

Leon sighed, allowing himself to relax slightly at Ada's response. His personal worries seemed to be secured, for the moment. Thoughts of Ada and what she was doing all those years had killed him more and more daily. She was up to no good for sure, but at least now they might be able to keep tabs on one another; watch each other's back -

_FWOOOSH!_

- And none of that would matter if they got blown up by a rocket.

"Shit, hang on!" Leon said, already spinning the wheel and slamming on the gas. Instantly the jeep squealed and turned, the rocket just barely missing the top and hitting the ground a few feet back. The jeep shuddered violently as the rocket detonated, sending rock and debris into the air.

"Keep driving," Rain's voice crackled through Leon's headset. "I'm going to take out the rocketeer, over."

"Copy that." Leon replied, his voice an octave above normal. He floored it and the Jeep responded quickly, the motor screaming with torque.

There was a loud metallic_CRACK_ as a sniper round pinged off of the armor plating, and Leon swerved to the right, dodging a large mound of what used to be a building.

"Turn off the headlights," Ada yelled over the engine. "It'll be harder for them to hit us."

"Yeah, and harder for me to see!" Leon protested as he tore around a corner.

"Then I'll guide you." Ada replied, slight irritation in her voice. "Turn them off."

Leon sighed and turned them off, leaning forward as he tried to see through all the snow. His eyes slowly adjusted and he was able to make out the large mounds of rubble of Raccoon.

"Turn left after this building." Ada said. Leon glanced torwards her direction, seeing that she was using some sort of GPS. "We're going strait for the facility."

"How are we doing, Rain?" Leon yelled into the radio as another rocket whooshed past them, exploding harmlessly against debris.

There was a far scream in response, followed by Rain's voice coming through.

"Area clear. All hostiles taken care of. Stop for a second, I need to catch up."

"...How many were there?" Leon asked hesitantly.

"Thirteen."

_Jesus fucking Christ._ He looked over at Ada, who wore the same expression he felt.

Leon slowed down to a stop and within moments of doing so the rear door opened, Rain flashing through with ease. His skin was still matted and dark, though it looked like it was returning to somthing human quickly.

"I was shot," He spoke softly. "And then I was healed by the virus."

"Tell me everything." Ada said, her worry melting away to interest.

"Uh, yeah. They caught and injected me with... the TC Virus. Here - I found _this..._" Rain took a peice of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ada. "It covers everything." Ada began reading it and everything else fell silent, the only sounds being the humming of the motor and an occasional "left" or "right" from Ada.

"I didn't know they had gotten this far with their studies." Ada muttered, finished with the document.

"Me neither. I think I'm alright for now, but if I notice any changes..."

"You know what we'll have to do if you-"

"Yeah. I know." Rain cut her off, his voice taking on a slightly acidic edge. He nodded toward Leon. "How about you? Why are you here?"

Leon scoffed. "I'm here to get _you_ out. But the way you two are talking, it sounds like I came here for nothing. You don't even know if there's a cure yet."

_Even though there probably isn't a cure; look at him. He's a goddamn monster._

"Please. Do you really think Wesker had a cure in mind when he made this?" Rain looked straight into the rearview-mirror, locking his gaze with Leon's. "If this isn't contagious, if this is all it does, then there's no reason for me to retire early. If I get worse, I'll gladly put a bullet in my head. But you know what I'm going to do with this in the meantime?"

Leon smiled. "You're going to fuck Wesker up?"

"Damn right I am."

"However, I want someone to look at the virus. Can I get a blood sample?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Got a needle?" Rain responded, slightly confused. Ada shot a questioning glance at Leon, asking him exactly what the hell he was up to before reaching into her bag and pulling out a needle, handing it to Rain.

"Ada, open the glovebox, take out the chrome cube." Leon ordered, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone.

---

Some crazy stuff's gonna go down soon. And the way it's looking, there might be room for a sequel!

Read and review, thanks!

-Dead I Rain


	7. Seven

**Los Angeles, CA**

**2329 Hours (11:29)**

The phone rang.

_Who's calling at this hour?_ Rebecca Chambers looked up from her studies and brushed her brown bangs to the side, eyeing the phone with not a little distaste.

"Hey, this is Rebecca. I'm not here right now so please leave a message. Thanks!" Her machine said.

"Rebecca, pick up the phone." A deep, male voice came through the speaker, the voice that belonged to a friend she hadn't seen in six years. "Rebecca?"

_Leon..._

Rebecca jumped off her bed and damn-near sprinted to the phone, almost tripping over a chair in her way. She snatched the receiver up off the cradle, almost making it fall off the desk it was on.

"Leon?!" Rebecca almost-yelled into the phone.

There was a small chuckle on the other line. "Hey, Rebecca."

Her heart fluttered with excitement. "Leon! Where did you go? Six years and not even a ph-"

"Hey, HEY. Rebecca. Calm down. I need your help."

"Oh, um. I'm sorry. I just..." She mentally kicked herself, embarrassed.

"Yeah, I miss you, too. Listen, we can catch up on old times later, but I'm in a situation here, and I need your help. You aren't doing anything serious right now, right?"

Rebecca looked mildly over at the book she was reading. It had fallen to the floor in her scramble to the phone. "No, not at all. You said you were-" She stopped, seeing the clock that was next to her bed. "Wait. What time is it for you? And where are you?"

"It's, ah, 2:30. And I'm in Raccoon."

_Raccoon?_

Her blood ran cold. Raccoon City, the place that had been infected with the T-Virus. Ground zero. What the hell was Leon doing _there_?

"I know you have a million questions, but some serious shit's going down right now, and your expertise could come in handy. Remember that chrome cube we stole from Umbrella back in Nevada? Do you still have it?"

_The replicator. Of course I do._ She stole it back when she, Leon, Chris, Jill, and Barry were in the Anti-Umbrella organization. It could replicate small things like glasses or bottles, but the idea had never developed past the two identical boxes that they found. Umbrella lost all their funding when the Raccoon incident was uncovered.

_"_Yeah, I do. You want me to turn it on?" She asked, already rooting through a cabinet for it.

"Hold on. First, put on some gloves and get to a sanitation room. I've got blood I want you to look at."

"...Infected blood?" A spike of adrenaline flooded through her body, filling her with both excitement and fear from the possibility.

"Yeah. A new strand of the virus. You ready?"

_Not in this lifetime, I'm not_.

"Let me get down to the safe room. What do you know about it so far?" Rebecca was already heading down to her sterilization chamber, phone and cube in hand.

"Well, it's called the TC Virus. It turns the host into a super being... thing..." Leon trailed off. "They can run, jump, see, and smell everything better than a normal person could. I need to know how contagious it is."

"But no zombification?"

"No. Well, it doesn't _seem_ like it. There's more aggression for sure, but he's not really trying to rip me apart right now."

_He?_

"Alright. Send it through." Rebecca said, pressing the button on the metallic cube. The shine melted away and it turned a dark red before going transparent for a few seconds, returning to sight as the usual chrome color.

"I got it." She spoke, forcing herself to become calm as she opened the cube by its center hatch, revealing a hypodermic needle with fresh blood inside. "Great sample. This'll take me a little while, fifteen minutes for the most basic information. Want me to call you back?"

"Sounds good. Be careful with that stuff, Rebecca." Leon replied, his voice soft but serious.

"Be careful yourself, Leon. And when this is all over," She began.

"Yeah, I know the drill. I have some serious explaining to do."

"Damn right you do." Rebecca turned off the phone and sighed, steadying her hands before digging in.

---

Ugh, I've got the flu, and I should be resting, but here's chapter seven. Happy birthday.

I'm going back to bed.


	8. Eight

**Raccoon City Quarantine Zone**

**0227 Hours (2:27)**

Leon got off the phone, a slight smile visible through the rear-view mirror.

"So who was that, where are they, and what the _fuck_ is that thing?" Rain asked, still confused about what the hell just happened.

"Relax. Her name was Rebecca Chambers. She's an old friend and EX-STARS of Raccoon. Her field is bio-chemistry, so she'll be able to give us a basic run-down of the virus. And this-" He held up the shiny metallic box. "This is a little something I nabbed from Umbrella back when we were trying to take them down."

"We?"

"Rebecca, me, and a few others."

The conversation ended then and Rain looked out the side window. Normally he wouldn't be able to see through this snow. But now, with this TC Virus, he could see right through the snow.

_Not that there's a whole lot to see._

"Alright, the facility is just ahead. Make sure everything's loaded." Ada said, reloading her own firearm. Rain recognized it as a VP-70.

_Welcome back to hell, Rain._ The Jeep descended the slope of the garage, the sudden darkness of the facility screaming danger into his mind.

_What the hell is that smell?_ Seriously. Something smelled wrong. It was like rotting fruit or...

"What's that... no. Hell no. There's no way..." Leon trailed off, reaching into his pocket as his phone began to ring. "Zombies." He said into the phone.

_Excuse me?_

"Leon, get out of there! And don't touch the infected blood!" Rebecca's worried voice sounded through the receiver.

_Shit. I'm hot._

"What about the infected? Are they zombified too?"

"Well, no, but you need to stay as far away from them as you can. If their blood touches another, though, then they have the zombish effects." Leon shot a look up into the rear-view mirror and winked at Rain.

"Alright. We're going in and blowing the place apart." There was silence on the other line.

"Leon, I really think you should just get out of there, but..." Rebecca sighed. "Headshots. Remember that. And call me once you're in the clear, okay?"

"Of course. Wash up, get rid of that sample, disinfect, and grab a book." Leon closed the phone. "Alright, we need to go in hard and fast."

"You're serious about this shit?" Rain asked, suddenly uncertain about the mission.

_Zombies? What the fuck?_

"Aim for the head, and stay tight. This'll get worse before it gets better." Ada said, looking over her shoulder at Rain.

**--- **

**0232 Hours (2:42)**

The helicopter ascended away from the EXU facility, Wesker watching from a side window as it got smaller and smaller, vanishing in the thick snow. He sighed, gripping the briefcase that held the TC Virus.

_That damn subject.__But with success comes failure, I suppose._

The guards that the subject had mauled reanimated, infecting everyone else they came in contact with. And with the strike team out looking for the subject, the scientists never really stood a chance. There was nothing left by now, all of the computers had their memory completely wiped, all of the hard documents burned.

_Well, all except for one..._

He never managed to find the report. Maybe one of the scientists had taken it somewhere.

_None of that matters now; the detonation will go off in thirty minutes anyway, starting... now._

He was fond of the resourcefulness of the construction team - they had installed a detonation system in case this would occur. Funny how the things rigged to explode always tended to need to explode.

Wesker smiled. Of course, the subject, Leon Kennedy _and_ Ada Wong would be trying to get into the facility. And when they finally get past all of the locked down areas, they would be met with a great, fiery welcome.

This was a great day.

**--- **

**0235 Hours (2:44)**

Leon breathed slowly and walked quickly, looking for the nightmarish creatures that had haunted his dreams for six years. The lights in the facility were completely out, and most of the doors were locked. The flashlight attached to his weapon dimly lit up the hallways; the same old, boring, stainless steel corridors that Umbrella was fond of.

"Wait," Rain spoke barely above a whisper. "They're coming."

_They? What the hell does he mean? Zombies don't-_

_Oh my god._

The _thing_ that tore around the corner in front of Leon could hardly be considered a zombie at all - though it looked recently dead, there were large spikes protruding out of its fingers. The lacerations the covered its body bled profusely, making the scene all the more unreal.

"That's not a z-" Ada began, her voice telling Leon she was too surprised to fire her weapon.

The thing screamed a terrible war cry that echoed all around him. He decided he had enough of the creature for one sitting.

"Eat shit." He spoke, stiffening his grip on the weapon as he tapped the trigger.

_BAM!_

The bullet went right into the thing's head and it fell over, hitting the ground in unison with the empty cartridge.

"Headshots still work." He said as he lowered his weapon and looked back at Ada and Rain. "Let's go."

---

I crawl out of my bed to entertain yee.

You should see my magic hat trick. It has nothing to do with hats. Or magic.

-DR


	9. Nine Final

0242 Hours (2:47)

_...Alrighty, then._ Ada stared at Leon, startled and surprised at his decision to shoot the thing.

_It was a monster. He took it out while you were too freaked-out to. What's the big deal?_

Still, it felt as though his young, boyish do-gooder attitude was dead, replaced by the government agent who was all-too-eager to blow the next mother fucker to get in his way apart.

_It's kind of been a long night for him, and you. Just get the job done; we can worry about why Mr. Nice guy just wasted the seventh horror of the world later._

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rain crack a smile.

"Dude, that was badass." He said, his eyes flashing a bright orange before dimming. "However, I think it'd be a good idea if we split up. We can find whatever we'll need to turn this place into a fireball faster if we do so. You two just stay together - I can see pretty well in the dark." His eyes flashed again, this time staying bright.

"Good point." Leon replied, thinking. "Just keep in radio contact. Call if you-"

"I'm dying here tonight." Rain cut in. "My blood is hot, right?"

Ada looked straight at him. "I'm sorry, Rain. We have to."

The commando nodded. "I was born for this." He smirked. "In all honesty, I'm pretty much the most awesome person in the world right now."

_Good old Rain._

Ada smiled. "Let's go. Rain, keep going this way." He nodded again and sprinted off at inhuman speeds, running on the walls at the corner. Then he was gone, not a sound to be heard, save the humming of the ventilation fans and the occasional groan of the -

"Zombies..." Ada whispered accidentally, slightly embarrassed.

"I know. To think that Umbrella has still been working on their dreaded virus this entire time? It's disgusting." Leon said, his gaze distant as he looked past her, back down the way they were headed.

Ada sighed, looking down at her firearm.

_Get going. You ain't got all day._

She began walking down the steel corridor, her light bobbing up and down asynchronous with Leon's. There were more primal screams ahead of them, though their sound was distant. Those...

_Zombies, Mark II._

A disturbing thought. They past by numbers of locked doors the bared titles ordinary to any scientific facility - Lab 1, Lab 2, Lab 2A...

_Hello, what's this?_

Ada stopped at a door that had the word ARMORY printed on it. The door was stainless steel except for a small bulletproof-window that ran down center of it - and of course, it was locked. Inside was far too dark to see. She put her flashlight into the window and peered through, barely making out the empty gun racks and-

"SCREEEEEEEIAA!" The bloody zombie roared at her through the window, causing her to yell in terror herself, falling back into Leon's arms. The thing pounded against the metal door with no avail.

"Jesus Christ... Jesus Christ..." She sputtered, collecting her bearings as Leon hoisted her back up to a standing position.

More inhuman screams joined the first, and the zombies' lament echoed through the hallways.

"Uh... what the fuck did you guys just do?" Rain's voice came through the radio. "This doesn't sound... oh, goddamnit!"

There were distant tap-tap-taps of automatic fire.

"Rain, come in." Ada spoke into the radio, still in slight shock.

"Shit, get ready. They're _all_ heading your way." Rain said.

Ada instinctively pressed her back against Leon's and they raised their weapons at each pathway.

_Headshots._

The first few of the wretched creatures poured out from side and the opened fire, the rounds hitting their targets with deadly accuracy. Their speed didn't matter - she was the best marksman of her class back at training, and this was no different than the pieces of paper that she trained on. Soon Leon's rifle joined her pistol, both firing in different directions.

In seconds it was over, there were no more horrendous cries of what shouldn't exist, no scampering of feet that should've stayed still to begin with.

"Cease fire!" Rain called from behind the corner before coming around it. "Damn, you guys just cleaned house!" He said, smiling.

"Rain, behind you!" Ada yelled and involuntarily pointed, seeing the single creature coming up from behind him. In one swish he pivoted around and brought his open hand on top of the things head, throwing it into the ground. With a dull thump and a nasty crack, the zombie laid still. He turned back to Ada.

"Everyone's dead, Wesker's gone. I'm guessing by helicopter. He also activated a detonation sequence for us already and its set to explode in..." A PDA he held came into view. "Eight minutes."

"Great. That's just enough time to g-"

Leon was cut off by the sudden eruption of the wall that separated the hallway from Lab 2A.

_What the fuck is that?_

The thing that walked out of the Lab looked like a giant wolf with green, scaly skin and bright red eyes. It howled, a deafening sound that caused her to fall to the ground. Bearing it's ragged and razor-teeth, it growled at the group.

"You need to leave right now. You can still make it out of the blast radius if you go." Rain said to Leon and Ada, keeping his eyes fixed upon the hideous animal.

Leon pulled Ada up. "Let's go," He spoke quickly, and she nodded.

"Alright, you monster. It's time to see what you're made of." She heard Rain say as she turned the corner, heading for the garage. His voice was becoming distant and echoed. Leon didn't waste any time in starting the Jeep and smashing down on the gas. Higher and higher they went up the steep slope. The Jeep made a small bounce as it cleared the first few feet of ground, and-

_No. No way._

-Leon slowed the truck down to a stop as the Tyrant that they had killed stood in front of them.

0305 Hours (3:05) 7 minutes until detonation.

_How the hell?_

Ada eyed the large knife gash that went through the eye of the Tyrant.

"Get in the .50," Leon said, keeping his gaze trained on the bio weapon. He suddenly turned the wheel and floored it, the cold engine screaming in response. Ada slipped back and headed to the mounted machine gun that occupied the top of the vehicle. She could hear the mini gun that the Tyrant held begin to rotate, the barrels getting ready to riddle the Jeep with holes.

_I'm not dying here, not now. Not after everything that's happened._

Ada gripped the cold coils of the .50, training the gun on the Tyrant and opening up. The air between the gun and its mark was shredded by the rounds that pierced it. At the same time the mini gun fired, following just inches behind the Jeep.

_Come on..._

Ada's arms went numb from the shaking of the gun and she only released the trigger when the mini gun stopped. Through the smoky snow she could see that the Tyrant had stopped firing and was sprawled on the ground once more. She slipped back into the side seat of the vehicle.

"Let's get the hell out of here." She said, and Leon nodded.

_---_

_"I am a virus._

_I live in silence."_- Audioslave, _Bring Em Back Alive_

0305 Hours (3:05) 7 Minutes until detonation.

_Well, this was a dumb idea._

Dead Rain jumped against the wall and rebounded away from the monstrous creature. He turned a corner and sprinted away from it, displeased that he could hear it behind him, easily keeping up. It snarled again and Rain dodged out of the way, feeling the jaws snap inches away from his outstretched legs.

_Come on, come on, there has to be a-_

_Oh, goddamnit._

It was a dead end.

_Alright, virus. What now?_

_Fuck gravity._

Rain sprinted as fast as he could at the dead end, still feeling the monster right on his ass.

_Now._

He leapt at the wall, and his foot connected. His hands and knee hit the wall, and he rebounded off of it, flying towards the ceiling. Rain felt the scales of the monster's back rub against his and he collided with the ceiling, rebounding again to the ground. He had cleared the monster right as it collided with the wall, sending large tremors through the entire facility. Rain felt it throughout his body as he hit the ground with his hands, pushing off against the ground with the momentum and flying backwards with his chest groundside. The earth around him still shook as he finally connected with it, sliding backwards. He saw that the creature had fallen to the ground and the wall it collided with looked pretty much like the outside city ruins.

_They may not be out yet, close the garage to contain the explosion better._

Rain turned and sprinted again, pushing his body as hard as he could, and then some. Already he felt the creature's massive footsteps coming his way.

_Come on, where is it... there!_

He stopped by the garage door, pushing the emergency close button before running again-

_"AAAGH!"_

-and felt the creature clamp its jaws around him, two ragged lines of teeth digging into the top and bottom of his chest. He grabbed out his knife and stabbed the thing repeatedly, its jaw slightly giving way. Rain jabbed it in the eye and it let go, letting him fall down the ground. The razor teeth and dug into his body too much, he couldn't move. He watched as the creature began backing up, rearing its head left and right as it felt the pain.

His pain was noticeable too, but it seemed to be... dulling down?

_The virus!_

Soon the pain was gone completely, and so were his wounds. He got up and unhooked the two MP5's on his legs, flicking the safeties off. Somewhere in his mind he noted that they were hair-triggers as he depressed them.

The bullets pinged off of the scaly skin of the monster and he dropped the useless weapons.

_Go for the eye_-

Rain began running at the cycloptic beast, leaping onto the leg and crawling up it using the scales. The thing shook as it tried to get him off but he kept his hold, priming a grenade in the process. He shoved it in the thing's knifed eye and back flipped off, watching as the grenade detonated - along with a good portion of the thing's face. Blood splattered everywhere as it collapsed.

"Bitch." Rain muttered as he fell against the wall and slid down, exhausted. He pulled out the PDA he found - just under one minute before everything went to hell.

A murmur of laughter floated through the hallway and his blood went cold.

"Well done, Dead Rain!" Wesker said over an intercom system. "You've been a fine test subject. I now understand the full potential of the virus, thanks to you."

"You know what?" Rain spat. "Shut up. Just shut the _fuck_ up. Goddamn."

Wesker laughed more. "Sad to think you came here just to die."

"No. We're one step closer to stopping you. It's only a matter of time, now."

"Oh, you have no idea what's in store for Ms. Wong and Mr. Kennedy. They will die just as you are about to." The comm. cut out. The PDA chirped as it read out the time.

_Five._

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

---

0312 Hours (3:12)

Wesker watched as the facility erupted into flames through the side window, feeling satisfied. The experiment was a success and he had all of the required data he needed to continue his research.

_And all for you, my lovely._

He held the glass vial that held his work in a gloved hand. It was a shame that Ada and Leon had escaped the facility in time. He had seen them make it past the quarantine wall before the detonation.

_Oh well. All in good time._

A fight for another day. In the meantime, Wesker would make sure to file his report on the experiment and everything that had happened over the last hours when he got back to Nevada.

---

Epilogue soon.


	10. Ten Epilogue

Epilogue

---

**Explosion in Raccoon City**

**WASHINGTON, DC (AP)** -- There was an explosion earlier this morning inside of the Raccoon City quarantine zone. There were no confirmed injuries as the zone is off-limits. The explosion was likely caused by the unintentional mixing of chemicals, experts said.

When left unattended to, the elements used by Umbrella may have mixed and a slight disturbance could easily cause an explosion, Director of Hazardous Materials US, Frederick Logan said.

"We will be sending a team in to investigate. The important thing right now is to not jump to conclusions." He said at a board meeting earlier today.

Though impossible to forget, Raccoon City was quarantined off due to a biological outbreak six years ago...

**---**

**New Evidence Suggests Foul Play**

**WASHINGTON, DC (AP)** -- Hazardous Materials teams sent into the Raccoon City quarantine zone are suggesting that the explosion that happened over a week ago was intentional.

Residue that was left over from the explosion was found to be Uranium and other heavy metals, leading to speculation that there was a bomb planted in the city, experts said.

Director of Hazardous Materials US, Fredrick Logan, has nothing to say on the issue at the moment, only that the investigation will continue.

**---**

**Leon's phone**

_It's Leon. Leave a message._

_**Message one.**_

Leon, its Ada. I heard about what happened to your work friend. Wesker's probably behind it. Call me back.

_**End of message.**_

_**Message two.**_

Leon? This is Rebecca. You haven't called since your friend died. Are you alright? Call me, I'm here.

_**End of message.**_

_**Message three.**_

It's Zack. You didn't come into work today. Everything okay?

_**End of message.**_

_**Message four.**_

Hey, it's Ada. Where are you? I haven't heard from you in a month. Just tell me you aren't sitting someplace, alone, obsessing over Wesker. Oh, and I heard about your cleanup of the EXU facility in North Dakota. Call me.

_**End of message.**_

_**Message five.**_

It's Rebecca. I got a call from one of your friends... Ada. She sounds worried about you, and I am too. She also said something about you taking out another EXU lab, in Alabama? Please, Leon. Call me. We can work through this.

_**End of message.**_

_**Message six.**_

It's been two months since your hiatus and you haven't once contacted the office. You need to call us. And Happy New Year.

_**End of message.**_

_**Message seven.**_

Leon? It's Chris Redfield. Rebecca called me. Where are you, man? Call me back. Oh, and great job with that T-Virus testing plant in Ohio.

_**End of message.**_

_**Message eight.**_

It's Ada. You're becoming_ quite_ the topic among the people who run this show. It's been about three months since we've talked, though. (Sigh) Sure would like to hear your voice again. I've been talking with Rebecca and Chris, as well as his sister and Barry Burton. Everyone's been working to find you, yet you keep on slipping under the radar. Leon, we can work together, we have an entire team ready to fight this with you. Call me.

_**End of message.**_

_**End of messages.**_

**---**

**MISSING: **Leon Scott Kennedy

**HEIGHT:** 5' 7"

**AGE: **27

**WEIGHT:** 154 lbs

**EYE COLOR: **Blue

**HAIR COLOR:** Brown

**LAST SEEN:** Washington, DC

**IF SEEN PLEASE NOTIFY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.**

**---**

**Thanks for reading, guys. It's been a blast writing. I'm slowly forming a sequel but don't expect it for a while. If you would like updates on how the sequel is going please feel free to contact me.**

**AIM: Dead I Rain**

**XBL Gamertag: Dead I Rain**

**E-Mail: Cold.fire3(at)yahoo(dot)com**


End file.
